Trans Am has
been a part of
SCCA’s rich
history since the
1960s (BELOW).

And while the
series may have
changed into
the 1970s (LEFT)
and beyond,
the racing has
remained just as
amazing. Many of
the Trans Am logs
and homologation
reports from back
in those days still
exist, with some
residing in the
SCCA Archives.

Asignificant part of the SCCA’s 75-year history includes the
glory days of SCCA Pro Racing’s
Trans Am Series. Much of that
important history is recorded
in the collection of the SCCA
Archives at the International
Motor Racing Research Center
(IMRRC) in Watkins Glen. With
funding provided by the SCCA
Foundation, the staff at the IMRRC
has sorted, catalogued, and
properly stored a wide variety
of historical materials about the
Trans Am Series. The collection
documents Trans Am from the
beginning with the Pony Car era of

1966-’ 74, through the expansion
of the rules to include GT cars
in 1973, the later tube frames,
and into the new millennium.

While there is a lot of terrific
history in the Trans Am materials,
the SCCA Foundation encourages
members and fans to submit
additional original materials they
might have tucked away at home
in a box or an attic. “We would
welcome additional photographs
from series,” says Ambrose. “While
the race results were published, we
have very few original race results
for the Trans Am Series.” Anyone
wanting to donate materials
to the SCCA Archives should
contact the SCCA Foundation by
e-mail at info@sccafoundation.
org or by contacting the
IMRRC in Watkins Glen via
www.racingarchives.org.

The Trans Am records providefar more insight into the seriesthan just official results anddriver lists. SCCA Archivestechnician Joe Cali found thatcorrespondence and relatedhomologation papers documentsome of the lengths teams andofficials went to in the pursuitof competition. Records reflectthat one team “acid dippedtheir cars so often it causedthe roofs to buckle and crack,so they added vinyl tops tocover it up,” Cali noted. He alsodiscovered confirmation ofthe racing community rumorthat SCCA permitted PontiacFirebirds to compete with Z/28

302 Chevy motors. “Early on,
Pontiac did not have an engine
small enough to meet the 5-liter
size limit,” Cali explains. “The
manufacturer claimed that the
Firebirds were sold with the
Chevy motors in Canada to
satisfy the SCCA rules regarding

1,000 production units – astory the SCCA accommodatedto let the Firebirds race.”Many of the race programsand press releases documentthose who participated in theseries, including photos of theircar liveries. A program for the